KUCHING: Sarawak's Joey Tan Xing Lei was introduced to archery by her brother when she was 10 but never thought she would take up the sport seriously.
She has come a long way since then and won the women's 70 metre recurve gold at the Sarawak Malaysia Games (Sukma) today.
The 17-year-old comfortably won with a score of 645. Selangor's Nur Ieka Hariesya Zainal Habsahli (629) and Terengganu's Nurul Syakirah Hashim (610) settled for silver and bronze.
Joey said it was a meaningful win for her as it has been challenging for her to balance her studies with her archery programme.
"My brother brought me to watch archery (games) and understand it better when I was younger. At the time I never thought about taking up the sport seriously," said Joey.
"This is my third Sukma and previously in 2022 (Kuala Lumpur) I won three gold and one silver.
"So there is some pressure on me here to equal, or if possible better, my previous achievements."
Meanwhile, the men's 70m recurve event witnessed Terengganu's Saiful Islam Mohd Rizuwan taking gold on 656 while Pahang's Haiqal Danish Affandi and Sarawak's Liew Yu Jie claimed silver and bronze.